• 13
  • August
    2010

In a move that has wrought both praise and criticism, a federal judge in San Francisco struck down Prop 8, or the California Marriage Protection Act, a law passed in 2008 that added a new provision to the California Constitution defining legal marriage as only between a man and a woman.

The decision continues the back-and-forth parry between avid supporters of gay marriage and those vehemently opposed --- whether same-sex couples should enjoy the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual married couples, including those legal rights available in divorce, business valuation and paternity.

A prohibition against same-sex marriage was put in place in 2000 through Prop 22. On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court granted same-sex couples a constitutional right to marry (In re Marriage Cases), effectively invalidating Prop 22. In November 2008, Prop 8, which contains the same language as Prop 22, was passed in response to the Court's ruling. Subsequently, on August 4, 2010, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker overruled Prop 8.

In his lengthy opinion, Walker drew comparisons between old laws that prohibited interracial marriage. He stated, "Race restrictions on marital partners were once common in most states but are now seen as archaic, shameful or even bizarre."

According to Wikipedia, supporters and opponents raised $39.9 million and $43.3 million respectively, making this the highest-funded campaign second only to the 2008 presidential election.

The struggle is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court after a stop through the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.